SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 2,543 on Friday, with an additional 12 deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department now estimates that there are 55,374 active cases of the disease in Utah. The average number of positive cases per day for seven days is now 2,391, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 25%, a drop of one full percentage point from Thursday and almost 8% the week before.
The state health department also announced on Friday that a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19, originating in the United Kingdom, was detected in Utah. The variant was detected in a man from Salt Lake County who tested positive last month and is between 25 and 44 years old. The man had no travel history outside Utah and had only mild symptoms, according to the health department.
The COVID-19 vaccine is believed to be effective against disease variations.
There are 584 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 210 in intensive care, state data show. About 93% of the intensive care unit’s beds are occupied in Utah on Friday, including about 95% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals, according to the health department. About 56% of hospital beds outside the ICU are occupied.
142,751 doses of vaccines have already been administered in the state, compared to 133,202 on Thursday.
Friday’s new case numbers indicate a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 1,884,601 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests performed increased by 17,245 on Friday, and 12,985 of them were tests from people who had not been tested for COVID-19 previously.
The 12 deaths reported on Friday are:
- Two men from Salt Lake County between the ages of 65 and 84 and living in long-term care facilities
- Two men from Salt Lake County aged 65 to 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between 45 and 64 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A man from Utah County who was over 85 and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Washington County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was a resident of a long-term institution
- A man from Weber County who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- Salt Lake County woman over 85 years old and resident in a long-term care facility
- A woman from Tooele County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Weber County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
Friday’s total gives Utah 320,102 confirmed cases, with 12,351 hospitalizations and 1,472 deaths from the disease. It is estimated that 263,256 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
There is no COVID-19 press conference scheduled for Friday. Utah officials provided an update on the pandemic at a news conference on Thursday.
Methodology:
The test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive results from the COVID-19 test are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results can take 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the Utah outbreak, including those who are infected, those who have recovered from the disease and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Referral hospitals are Utah’s 16 hospitals capable of providing the best COVID-19 healthcare.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days before they were reported, according to the health department. Some deaths can be even older, especially if the person is from Utah, but died in another state.
The health department reports deaths from confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases according to the case definition outlined by the State Council and Territorial Epidemiologists. Death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths reported as deaths from COVID-19, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19, according to the health department.
The data included in this story mainly reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district’s website.
More information about Utah’s health guidance levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
The information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein